Capital to fuel Company’s strategic growth into a leading biologics platform in the Southeast Asia region
Kalbe Genexine Biologics (“KGBio” or “the Company”), a leading integrated biologics holding company focused on the in-licensing, clinical development, and manufacturing of novel biologicals and biosimilar molecules, today announced that General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, will invest US$55 million in primary capital in the Company. The investment will support KGBio’s ongoing clinical development and commercialization needs, asset acquisition plan, and production capacity expansion efforts.
KGBio’s ambition is to play a leading role in increasing biological and biosimilar drug availability in the Southeast Asia region. Founded as a joint venture between Kalbe Farma, a leading healthcare and pharmaceuticals company in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and Genexine, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company in South Korea, KGBio is positioned for strategic growth. A combination of factors, including affordability constraints and lack of local manufacturing capabilities, have slowed the penetration of biologicals in the region. Biologicals have emerged as an important category of drug development over the past 20 years, with breakthrough advances in disease management, particularly in areas such as immuno-oncology, a key focus area for the Kalbe Group and KGBio. KGBio has built robust capabilities in clinical development and manufacturing and plans to leverage Kalbe Farma’s strength in distribution and global networks to create a large portfolio of biologicals for the Southeast Asia region.
Irawaty Setiady, President Commissioner of Kalbe Farma, said, “Biologicals is a key growth lever for the Kalbe Group. As an R&D-driven organization, we are committed to bringing global innovation in medicine and improving the accessibility and affordability of critical drugs for patients across the Southeast Asia region. We welcome the opportunity to partner with General Atlantic, a leading global investor in life sciences, to help realize our vision in Southeast Asia and beyond.”
Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head of India & Southeast Asia at General Atlantic, said, “We admire KGBio’s vision to bring affordable, high-quality biological products to Southeast Asia and look forward to working in partnership with Kalbe Farma and Genexine to advance this mission. With significant existing momentum, we believe KGBio is positioned to becoming a leading biologics platform in the Southeast Asia region as the Company continues to scale.”
Dr. Sung Young-Chul, CEO of Genexine and commissioner of KGBio, said “We are very pleased to have General Atlantic come onboard as a partner in KGBio. Genexine shares Kalbe Farma’s vision to create a leading biotech platform for the Southeast Asia region. Our partnership with Kalbe to bring leading global biotechnology innovation has been very successful so far, and we look forward to the next phase of growth as this new alliance helps us bring our goal closer.”
Sie Djohan, Director of Kalbe Farma and CEO of KGBio, said, “Our partnership with General Atlantic represents a new milestone in KGBio’s growth trajectory beyond Indonesia and Southeast Asia. As a global player in life sciences, General Atlantic brings an extensive network and deep expertise in innovation that KGBio aims to leverage. Having made considerable progress in the clinical development, regulatory approvals and commercialization of our novel and biosimilar molecules, we aim to further expand our portfolio and reach with the support of Genexine and General Atlantic as our partners.”
Ashish Saboo, Managing Director and Head of Indonesia at General Atlantic, said, “KGBio is committed to meeting the challenging healthcare needs of the Southeast Asia region by providing effective, affordable treatments for chronic health conditions. The Company is underpinned by Kalbe Farma’s leading R&D and governance standards, strong portfolio, integrated facilities, experienced management team, and extensive distribution network, as well as Genexine’s clinical development expertise. We are thrilled to back KGBio on their journey to drive global biotechnology innovation.”
Source: General Atlantic
